likely to ever see any of his inheritance. It’s quite likely that Lydia had drawn heavily on it to support Isaac and herself during the six years that they lived within “The Rules of the Kings Bench Prison” And then the creditors would have to be paid at that final meeting on March 7th. On top of that there were the legal fees, leaving little or nothing in the estate.

Vere probably had to go along with this arrangement in order to finally get things settled, but it apparently led to a serious rift in the family. With the employment outlook uncertain, his inheritance drained, anda falling out with his siblings, Vere was wondering where to turn next. Headlines in the daily papers no doubt caught his eye. The War of 1812 began on June 18 of that year with renewed hostil- ities between Britain and the United States. It would have drawn the attention of many to the prospects of a fresh start in North America.

David Harris, an Anglican priest from PEL, moved to Britain in 2011 and took over the parish of St. Giles in Reading, near Lon- don. He set out to trace Vere’s footsteps with visits to Crayford and Newington. He wrote, “Knowing the history of this parish, (St. Giles) I can finally understand why Vere and Elizabeth were so anxious to start a new life in Canada. Our own parish records reveal the state of things in England at that time: extreme poverty, overcrowding, rampant outbreaks of disease, and crippling unemployment. And England was dirty! The new factories (those “satanic mills” as Wil- liam Blake called them) were spewing out filthy black smoke that darkened the air, and everything around them. Streets were dirty and dusty. People’s houses were small, cold and expensive. Needless to say, the bright clear air of PEI must have been a refreshing change - even with all the hardships they were to suffer and endure.”

It was the Industrial Revolution at its worst! And for Vere and Elizabeth it must have been a very discouraging time indeed. Uncer- tain job prospects and a family row over the loss of his inheritance in order to rescue his brother-in-law Isaac from debtor’s prison. It was time for a new start, but where and how?

There were two obvious choices for someone looking across the Atlantic: Nova Scotia, where the government was offering free land